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Help For Confused Mac Fanboys…

In lifehacks, mac, productivity, technology on October 16, 2009 by Ubertech


Got a over priced Mac and need help staying focus on your work?

Yup, that’s right. Productivity’s number one enemy is distraction. The enemy is sly and cunning. It is a master of disguise and sneaks up on you when you least expect it — in the form of an email, an IM message or beeps and alerts from other applications.
To deal with distraction, I’ve come up with not one, not two but three applications. These apps will only allow you to work on one app at a time and hide the rest. Out of sight, out of mind.


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Big Fun With Outlook 2010…

In gtd on August 6, 2009 by Ubertech

o2010_1

So I get this wonderful email from Microsoft on my Blackberry telling me I have been chosen for the Office 2010 Technical Review. I get home and reinstall Windows 7 on my Macbook Pro on a Bootcamp partition and download Office 2010.

To make a long frustrating story short, during the setup of my email account Outlook was adding the name of the computer to my Exchange Server account name.

So I ended up having to change the name of my computer to match my Exchange Server account name to get it to work.

I’m going to Amazon to per-order Snow Leopard so I can gets me some native Exchange Server support with Apple Mail…

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Less Is More…

In gtd on August 3, 2009 by Ubertech


My desktop is designed give me the information that I deem necessary and nothing else.

I use a free application called Dateline to display the date and Geektool to display the time.


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Step Away From The Computer…

In lifehacks, productivity on July 24, 2009 by Ubertech

It’s the end of the week so turn off the computer go outside, talk to somebody (in person) and have some fun…


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Planning Your Day…

In pen and paper, productivity on July 22, 2009 by Ubertech

18 minutes from now you could be having a perfect day…

STEP 1 (5 Minutes) Set Plan for Day. Before turning on your computer, sit down with a blank piece of paper and decide what will make this day highly successful. What can you realistically accomplish that will further your goals and allow you to leave at the end of the day feeling like you’ve been productive and successful? Write those things down. Now, most importantly, take your calendar and schedule those things into time slots, placing the hardest and most important items at the beginning of the day. And by the beginning of the day I mean, if possible, before even checking your email. If your entire list does not fit into your calendar, reprioritize your list. There is tremendous power in deciding when and where you are going to do something.

link: An 18-Minute Plan for Managing Your Day – Peter Bregman – HarvardBusiness.org


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Mr. obvious strikes again!

You know what you need to do. You know why you need to do it. You even know what steps you must take to get it done. But there’s one small problem: you can’t seem to get moving. It’s a common problem. Maybe it’s chronic procrastination or maybe you’re just so overwhelmed that you feel paralyzed.

link: 10 Ways To Give Yourself A Procrastination Inoculation

Darren please tell us how you gtd with Evernote?

I have been using Evernote as one of my capture tools recently. I set it up with 3 and only 3 Notebooks. Simple. My default is INBOX. This is where all my incoming notes, emails, photos etc go. This is my collection bucket and is completely unprocessed. I get this INBOX to zero daily most of the time.

link: GTD and Evernote | darrencrawford.com

Skype for OS X is updated…thats good right?

Mac OS X only: Back in January Skype released a beta version of the popular VoIP application that added screen sharing tools, integration with Wi-Fi access service Boingo, better audio and video, and several other improvements.

link: Skype 2.8 for Mac Adds Screen Sharing, Wi-Fi Access, and More – Skype 2.8 – Lifehacker

How us home bound info workers can be better slackers…

But we do all need mental breaks to recharge. I can’t just not take breaks because taking them is too much work. So to cope with this challenge I’ve developed a system of being able to partially dial back my level of work activity. This gives me some of the mental feeling of taking time off without the break itself causing a stressful workload.

link: How to Take Mini Mental Breaks

What is productivity in the light of our post modern reality????

There has been rising concerns that “productivity is dead” and that people are moving on to new things. The conditions have changed that created the initial excitement around “productivity.” Most people are now comfortable with the internet, their computers, and the associated “knowledge work” that they no longer need ways to help them cope. In that sense, “productivity” is no longer needed.

link: On the Horizon: The New Productivity

After 12 years of waiting….

Many, many months ago, it looked like an official solution for syncing BlackBerry devices with the Mac (including media and iTunes playlists) was right around the corner. Now, almost a year later, RIM is finally making it official. But don’t get too excited. You still have to wait until September before the new software will be available for download.

link: Official BlackBerry Desktop Software for Mac Coming in September

Hacking your sleep? Riigghhhhhttttt….

One of the ways to force your brain into REM sleep and skip the other phases is to make it feel exhausted. If you’ve gone 24 hours without sleep, you might notice that you drift away into dreams straight from being awake. This because your body goes instantly into REM sleep as a protection mechanism. The way to hack yourself into entering REM sleep without being exhausted is to trick your body into thinking you’re going to get a tiny amount of sleep. You can train it to enter REM for short periods of time throughout the day in 20-minute naps rather than in one lump at night. This is how polyphasic sleep works.

link: How To Hack Your Brain, Part 1: Sleep | Dustin Curtis


Productivity Power Links 07-21-09

on July 21, 2009 by Ubertech

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Again With The Seinfeldian Chain

In gtd, pen and paper, productivity on July 20, 2009 by Ubertech

The infamous Seinfeldian Chain is back with a new printable implementation. Don’t know if it’ll actually produce any positive results but it sure looks good, which of course is half the battle…

Refocus is a simple printable template that allows you to lay out a handful of goals and track your adherence to those goals over the next 30 days.
Tracking goals in a concrete and visual way is an excellent motivational tool. The Seinfeldian Chain, previously covered here, is certainly a strong example of the effectiveness and popularity of the technique when used as motivation for a single goal. The ReFocus worksheet allows you to track up to five goals over a month. From the author’s web site:

via lifehacker